Title: Okimaw Piyesew

Artist: Colleen Gray

Tribal Affiliation: Mi'kmaq/Acadian/Irish

Year Completed: 2017

Medium: Watercolour on synthetic paper (unframed)

Dimensions (HxWxD): 9x12"

Description/Inspiration:

Story: The Thunderbird opens his eyes to look upon the Earth. Lighting flashes, seeking the Earth as She seeks him in the sky. Their union brings life to parched and broken soil and the greening of the ground begins again.

My Elder is Cree and a good teacher. He comes from the Thunderchild Reserve in Saskatchewan and taught me a little bit what he's learned growing up around Thunderbirds. When the sound of thunder can be heard, this is the great Thunderbeings moving their wings. When they open their eyes, the lightning escapes from them and lights up the skies, charges the air and ignites growth on our Mother the Earth. We are taught to hold their power in high regard, never to be careless with Thunder medicine (or any medicine). One day I didn't heed that lesson and scolded the Thunderbirds for something I'd just heard on the radio that involved a thunderstorm and the death of a family. Immediately as my final word rolled off my lips there was a great crack about 100 feet away from me and lightning hit the ground on a ½ constructed bridge nearby. I was blinded. Stones exploded everywhere. The hairs on my body stood up and my skin was tingling. I was instantly and sufficiently humbled. After emptying the entire contents of my tobacco pouch on the ground along with an abundance of prayer and a food offering from my lunch kit, I got in my car and drove home.

Artist Bio/Statement:

Colleen Gray is an Indigenous artist of Mi'kmaq, Acadian and Irish descent living in Smiths Falls, Ontario. Colleen grew up along the Petawawa River in Ontario, Canada.
In 2019 she was awarded the Governor General of Canada's Sovereign Medal for Volunteering for her efforts with Art for Aid (www.artforaid.ca), a grassroots initiative that sees remote Indigenous schools receiving donated art supply shipments. Colleen sells her original art to generate a personal income, but creates beautiful art products that she sells to help fuel the demanding shipping and operations budget of her project.

Colleen's art medium of choice is ground mineral watercolour paint on synthetic paper. The remarkable use of earth-based minerals in the paint give dynamic and fluid emotion to her work. The paintings often contain subtle yet visible "spirits" embedded in the nooks and crannies of the painting that give each viewer a unique perspective when looking at her work. Colleen's work is influenced by her understanding of Indigenous culture gained through working with her Cree Elder (Thunderchild Reserve, Saskatchewan) and community over the past 20 years with her focus highlighting the spiritual mystery of the Indigenous belief system. Each painting comes with a story that helps to convey her understanding and acquired knowledge and it is an integral part of the work.

Please note:

Shipping within the U.S. & Canada is included in the purchase price. Sales tax and an additional 4% + $2.00 per item will be applied to the entire transaction to cover taxes, credit card processing, and other fees.